Hello from Ireland just bought R18 first edition looking for advise .

[KerryR18]

Hi everyone,

Just joined the forum after recently purchasing a 2020 BMW R18 First Edition. The bike has 2065 miles and is in reasonably clean condition and appears to be mechanically very good. It also came with service history up to 2024, although it does not appear to have been used much since then.

The previous owner actually had to replace the battery on the day I collected the bike after the original one failed. A Harley Davidson battery was fitted at a cost of about £280, which appears to be very high quality and possibly even better built than the original BMW unit.

I have also just had a health check and service completed at my local BMW Motorrad dealer, and it looks like all previous recalls have already been carried out.
There are a couple of small cosmetic issues I am looking at sorting:
• Rust on the chrome bar ends, where a small section of chrome has started to peel.

• Rust on the suspension fork caps.

I am currently considering cost effective repair or replacement options. One option is Cerakote, which locally would cost around €30 per piece, but I understand the Torx T55 bolt in the fork caps can be difficult to remove because of red Loctite, so any advice from people who have dealt with this would be appreciated.

I am also looking at wind protection options. I quite like the look of the Puig batwing screen, and I have read that fork wind deflectors can work well on the R18. Any recommendations for good quality but reasonably priced setups would be very welcome.

I am based in Ireland and have been riding for about 29 years, with bikes ranging from Honda NSRs years ago, a Kawasaki Vulcan, Royal Enfield Bullet, BMW GS, Yamaha Fazer and MT09, and now the R18
Looking forward to learning from the forum and hearing your suggestions.

Thanks.
Alan

 

[Cu Dubh]

Welcome aboard. Sorry, I can't help with your queries as I ride a TC... however, you have come to the right place for answers. And the loc-tite issue is real; almost appears the factory assemblers used it with abandon. Enjoy the ride!
Sláinte!

 

[Petrus]

Congrats on your new bike.

Loctite réd? Sofar only have encountered blue strength. As such applying heat will ease resistance but not needed it yet.
If really réd, then the solution is driving into any local repair shop with an air gun. They may not have the correct Torx bit so bring your own. Ánd apply heat.

Ah and HD better quality than BMW. That is a new one
Almost a pity as it would have been a good reason to go LiFePO4.

About riding the crux is to enjoy the low revs. Even the RE Bullet is more revvy.
A word of caution; be careful with applying the front brake nearing standstill. The slightest steering angle while coming to a stop can see the thing wanting to topple to the inside.

 

[Noelpolar]

High and welcome from Aussie.

When ai did my forks the T55 did have BMW's thread locker on them but were not a major issue. However..... the fork caps themselves also had locker on them and on my bike were 10x harder then the T55s. I have no solution for that.... I was working with just handy man tools..... so lowered fork tube and retightend bottom tree and ended up using a 1 metre breaker bar, tried heat, rinse and repeat for 3 hours..... had to brace bike as it rotated with force required.

I latter dreamt of a proper "socket", fork tube clamp and 3/4" rattle gun. I'm a dreamer brought back down by my
woken* reality.

*not new age woke.... thats for harely and american beer

 

[Manhattan Matte]

Welcome KerryR18, from rural Texas. Yes, the upper fork bolts can be very difficult to remove because of the excessive amount of lock-tight. Powder-coating might be a solution for the rusting chrome parts. Just had my aluminum valve covers, intake covers and engine cover powder-coated because of pitting from the elements. You'll find the forum has plenty of advice and experience to offer. Enjoy your bike and post a photo when you can.

 

[Rufus]

Welcome along, those cosmetics should be fairly easy to resolve. Keep an eye on eBay for spares and AliExpress too. As said already the forum is a great place to start and most issues have been covered by now.

 

[KerryR18]

Thank you all for the warm welcome and valuable advise very much appreciated. If any of you can provide links to decent AliExpress bits and bobs or guide me to the thread that has this, would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Alan.

 

[FVallely]

https://www.roadstyler.com/en/home/

Company in Poland. Bought engine guards, sissy bar and luggage rack. Very happy with quality and price.
Enjoy the ride.

 

[Red64]

https://www.roadstyler.com/en/home/

Company in Poland. Bought engine guards, sissy bar and luggage rack. Very happy with quality and price.
Enjoy the ride.

Can also agree roadstyler is a great company to deal with.

 

[Kevin Duffy]

Hi everyone,

Just joined the forum after recently purchasing a 2020 BMW R18 First Edition. The bike has 2065 miles and is in reasonably clean condition and appears to be mechanically very good. It also came with service history up to 2024, although it does not appear to have been used much since then.

The previous owner actually had to replace the battery on the day I collected the bike after the original one failed. A Harley Davidson battery was fitted at a cost of about £280, which appears to be very high quality and possibly even better built than the original BMW unit.

I have also just had a health check and service completed at my local BMW Motorrad dealer, and it looks like all previous recalls have already been carried out.
There are a couple of small cosmetic issues I am looking at sorting:
• Rust on the chrome bar ends, where a small section of chrome has started to peel.

• Rust on the suspension fork caps.

I am currently considering cost effective repair or replacement options. One option is Cerakote, which locally would cost around €30 per piece, but I understand the Torx T55 bolt in the fork caps can be difficult to remove because of red Loctite, so any advice from people who have dealt with this would be appreciated.

I am also looking at wind protection options. I quite like the look of the Puig batwing screen, and I have read that fork wind deflectors can work well on the R18. Any recommendations for good quality but reasonably priced setups would be very welcome.

I am based in Ireland and have been riding for about 29 years, with bikes ranging from Honda NSRs years ago, a Kawasaki Vulcan, Royal Enfield Bullet, BMW GS, Yamaha Fazer and MT09, and now the R18
Looking forward to learning from the forum and hearing your suggestions.

Thanks.
Alan

Also welcome, pretty new R18 owner myself here in Lancs England, bought my 2021 Classic last November, also had some minor issues, probably because this is the first second hand bike I’ve owned since my GT250 back in 1977, I had a new GT380, Zephyr 550 & 1100 and T100 in the interim. My R18 had scratches on the fuel cap and exhaust near the sidestand, these faults annoyed me so I paid out to rechrome the fuel cap and polish the scratches out of the exhaust’s, don’t bother, just ends up worse, I ended up buying a new fuel cap off Ali Express and unused second hand exhausts from Germany and now I am happy, yes the loctite is a pain but I just clean the threads and use blue loctite on reassembly, For reference, many chromed parts are stainless steel, copper and then chrome plated and very high quality. Good luck

 

[Anibal]

Welcome aboard Alan and congratulations on your R18. Enjoy

 

[Robbyrottenest]

Hi everyone,

Just joined the forum after recently purchasing a 2020 BMW R18 First Edition. The bike has 2065 miles and is in reasonably clean condition and appears to be mechanically very good. It also came with service history up to 2024, although it does not appear to have been used much since then.

The previous owner actually had to replace the battery on the day I collected the bike after the original one failed. A Harley Davidson battery was fitted at a cost of about £280, which appears to be very high quality and possibly even better built than the original BMW unit.

I have also just had a health check and service completed at my local BMW Motorrad dealer, and it looks like all previous recalls have already been carried out.
There are a couple of small cosmetic issues I am looking at sorting:
• Rust on the chrome bar ends, where a small section of chrome has started to peel.

• Rust on the suspension fork caps.

I am currently considering cost effective repair or replacement options. One option is Cerakote, which locally would cost around €30 per piece, but I understand the Torx T55 bolt in the fork caps can be difficult to remove because of red Loctite, so any advice from people who have dealt with this would be appreciated.

I am also looking at wind protection options. I quite like the look of the Puig batwing screen, and I have read that fork wind deflectors can work well on the R18. Any recommendations for good quality but reasonably priced setups would be very welcome.

I am based in Ireland and have been riding for about 29 years, with bikes ranging from Honda NSRs years ago, a Kawasaki Vulcan, Royal Enfield Bullet, BMW GS, Yamaha Fazer and MT09, and now the R18
Looking forward to learning from the forum and hearing your suggestions.

Thanks.
Alan

Hi Alan, I only joined today. I bought my R18 first edition in Athlone and drove it to the Galway/Mayo border. Regarding wind protection, I didn't find it to bad at all on the M6 motorway doing 120km/h and above when overtaking. Also, I'm tall and have the bobber seat fitted which is higher than the standard, I believe.
You mentioned that you used your local Motorrad dealer. I'm assuming that's Cleary's in Cork. I'd be interested to know how you got on with them and how you found the pricing?
All the best.
Ps. I've family in Ballyduff in Kerry.

 

[kate_brett]

Dec 2020 build FE Pure. Fork cap bolt - some were bent ( poor production )? First bolt released with moderate force. Second bolt , one pictured required a breaker bar , LOTS of downward pressure with rotational force and every expletive known to the English language. About an hour to remove it . And l used heat. My advice, have a mate push down on Torx T55 whilst you apply rotational force. Less chance of stripping head.
Also see post by MilwDave - he unfortunately broke one. If somebody of his bike building capabilities can break one, then be very careful.
In photo, there is a subtle bend in the bolt. Took it to dealer and they blushed. Not as bad as the leaning tower of Pisa, there all the same. And the amount / type of Loctite used was overkill. Good luck.

 

[KAus]

Welcome, and enjoy the new ride. The R18s are magnificent machines.

Petrus' makes a good point in his earlier post (above): compared to my K1300 I find the R18 is sweetest down at the bottom of the rev count. And be very careful about applying the brakes if you're coming to a standstill with the bars turned even slightly. I find its best to brake to a stop in a straight line.

 

[KerryR18]

Hi Alan, I only joined today. I bought my R18 first edition in Athlone and drove it to the Galway/Mayo border. Regarding wind protection, I didn't find it to bad at all on the M6 motorway doing 120km/h and above when overtaking. Also, I'm tall and have the bobber seat fitted which is higher than the standard, I believe.
You mentioned that you used your local Motorrad dealer. I'm assuming that's Cleary's in Cork. I'd be interested to know how you got on with them and how you found the pricing?
All the best.
Ps. I've family in Ballyduff in

Thanks for the message.

Now that I’ve had the bike for a few months, I absolutely love it. It’s one of my favourite motorcycles I’ve owned and is incredibly comfortable and enjoyable to ride. I previously owned a GS and, honestly, I find the R18 even more comfortable on long journeys.
Regarding Kearys, I’ve always found them good to deal with. Their prices are what you would expect from a main dealer, but in fairness they’re not significantly more expensive than most other motorcycle workshops. Labour rates tend to be similar across the board. As a BMW main dealer they have the correct diagnostic equipment, and you also maintain a full main dealer service history.
Recently I had a health check completed, the engine oil changed, and a seized steering lock freed off and lubricated. The total bill came to €275.
BMWs are generally expensive to service. My previous GS had a major service a year or two ago that cost around €750. When you own a premium motorcycle, those sorts of costs are to be expected.
Of course, if you’re mechanically minded, the R18 is reportedly quite straightforward to work on yourself for routine jobs such as oil and fluid changes.
Best of luck with your bike. I hope you enjoy owning it as much as I have.